Straightening machine



Sept; 3, 1940. F. UNGERE R 2,2 3,

STRAIGHTENING MACHINE Filed larch 2, 19:7 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig Fk/TZv UNGEEEE,

Sept. 3. 1940. F. UNGERER 2,213,507

- STRAIGHIENING macnnm Filed March 2,1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 lmjenlor." I Ee/ z UA/qE/easz,

Patented Sept. 3, 1940' PATENT OFFICE 7 2,218,507 s'maron'rsnmo mm I Fritz Ungerer, Pforrheim-Brotzingen, Germany Application March 2,

1937, Serial No. 128,606

In Germany March 5, 1936 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for straightening sheets and plates and, more particularly, to an improved roller leveller construction adapted to be used as a part of a straightening machine, or as an independent roller leveller unit.

An object of the invention resides in providing at least one short straightening roller in cooperation with other long straightening rollers.

Another object of the present invention is to provide for the transverse and vertical adjustment of the short straightening roller or rollers independent of the other long straightening rollers to obtain, at any one point or points, a greater working pressure upon the sheet being fed through the machine. a

A further object of this invention is the arrangement of a plurality of short straightening rollers in a single horizontal plane, so as to equal in length a cooperating long straightening roller.

A still further object is to provide for the verti- .cal adjustment of the plurality of short straightening rollers independent of the cooperating long straightening rollers, and independent of each other.

In the straightening of sheets and plates, the sheet is fed through the machine and, as it passes therethrough, is contacted by a plurality of straightening rollers which are usually adjusted in a vertical direction to press the distorted sheets into a flat condition. The usual manner of adjusting the straightening rollers is accomplished by providing supporting rollers beneath the lower straightening rollers and, by raising or lowering these supporting rollers, the straightening rollers are correspondingly moved toward or away from the plane of travel of the sheet.

However, considerable difiiculty is experienced by such a construction in that it is impossible to obtain deflection of the straightening rolls at the point or points at which it is desired to exert the greatest amount of pressure upon the sheet passing, through the machine for pressing the distorted sheet into a fiat condition.

Under the present invention, these difilculties are overcome in that the supporting rollers, are eliminated and one ofthe straightening rollers comprises at least one short roller capable of transverse adjustment across the sheet passing through the machine and having a vertical adjustment independent of the long straightening rollers whereby a greater working pressure may be had upon the sheet at any desired point of contact than at the remaining points of contact with the sheet in its travel through the machine. The sheet will be free to seek an unwaved condition between the points of greater pressure;

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds in which:

Figure 1 is aside elevation of one embodimentof the present invention;

Figure 2 isa section on line 11-11 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detailed elevatiom partly in section, showing one form for effecting vertical movement of the short straightening rollers;

:Figure 4 is a detailed end view, partly in sectlon, showing the cooperating relationship of the eccentrically mounted rolls;

Figure 5 is a detailed side elevation, partly in section, of another form of moving the short supporting rollers vertically;

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a detailed side elevation of another form for moving the short supporting rollers vertically;

Figure 8 is ure '7;

Figure 9 is a side elevation of a plurality of short straightening rollers equal in length to a normally long straightening roller; and

Figure 10 is a section on line XX of Fi ure 9.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 2 represents a machine standardfor supporting upper and lower straightening rollers a transverse sectional view of Fig- 3 and 4, respectively, in such amanner that their adjustment toward and away from the work can be eifected in any conventional or well known manner. Two of the lower, normally long, straightening rollers iand 6 cooperate with at least one shorter straightening roller 1. The short straightening rollers l are of a construction known as crowned rolls in order to avoid damage to the sheet surface and to obtain a correct course of the working charge.

The shorter straightening roller or rollers I, as the case maybe, can be adjusted vertically with relation to their cooperating long straightening rollers 5 and 6 independently of any vertical adjustment of the straightening rollers 3 and 4, respectively. By such independent relative adjustment of the straightening rollers 1 with respect to the straightening rollers 5 and 6, it is possible to obtain, at any desired point,

. a greater working pressure upon the material than upon other contact points made with the sheet I passing through the machine; The shafts 8 and ii are mounted in the bearing frame 9 in such a manner that upon a vertical movement of the short straightening rollers,

said shafts will be capable of vertical movement in .said bearing frame 9 in any conventional manner.

The adjustment of the short straightening roller or rollers I to any particular point requiring a greater working pressure upon the sheet I than at other points, is efi'ected by a transverse movement of said roller or rollers 1 across the I line of travel of the sheet material I. This adjustment is capable of being efl'ected in a number of ways and, for the purpose of illustration only, I havq' shown such adjustment as being effected in the following manner:

A hollow tube 8 is supported in suitable bearing in the side frame 9 of the machine standard 2 and extends beyond the side frame a suitable distance for receiving a hand-wheel 10. The other end of said hollow tube 8 positioned between the side frames 9 and H, of the machine standard 2, is provided with an external threaded area I2 adapted to engage the internal threaded area of the short straightening-roller support H. A shaft l5, provided with an external threaded end l6, extends through the hollow tube ii and has attached to its end, opposite the threaded area, a hand-wheel I]. By such a construction, it is possible to shift the short straightening roller or rollers I in a transverse direction .to the plane of travel of the sheet material through the machine, thereby permitting a greater pressure to be applied at any desired point of contact between the short straightening rollers I and the sheet I. If desired, any one of the short straightening rollers I, if there be more than one, may be shifted transversely independently of the other short straightening rollers; for example, by rotating the hand-wheel H, the threaded area l6 causes a shifting transverse movement of the short straightening roller 1, either to the right or left of the drawings, as the case may be, independent of the movement of the other short straightening roller 1, shown to the left in\the drawings. If the left-hand short straightenirig 'roller'"Tis desired to be shifted transversely, the hand-wheel Ill is rotated whereby the support I will travel to the right or left over the threaded area l2, independent of the short straightening roller on the right of the drawings. While two short straightening rollers have been shown in the drawings, it is to be understood that they are for illustration only, and I do not wish to be limited in the number of short straightening rollers I positioned across the transverse plane of the travel of the sheet material through the machine. If desired, only one short straightening -roller may be used; or, if found necessary, more than one may be used to accomplish the desired function and result of obtaining a greater pressure at one point than at other points upon the sheet material.

The laterally shiftable, short crowned straightening rollers I are positioned transversely of the normal plane of travel of the sheet material and confined in their movement between the planes formed by the outside surfaces of the normally long straightening rollers 3 and 4.

After the short straightening roller or rollers 1 have been adjusted or shifted transversely of the point or points requiring a greater working pressure upon the sheet material, suitable means may be provided for vertically adjusting the said short straightening roller or rollers 1 for the purpose of bringing said roller or rollers 1 into contact with the sheet material, whereby the pressure necessary to straighten the distorted sheet is applied thereto.

This vertical adjustment of the short straightening roller or rollers I may be'carried out in a I numberof ways and, for the purpose of illustration, I have shown, in Figures .l'to 8, inclusive, detailed constructions for accomplishing this vertical adjustment of the short straightening of the sheet.

roller or rollers 1 with respect to the sheet and the cooperating long straightening rollers 5 and 6.

In Figures 1 and 2, a roll is is eccentrically mounted on a shaft H! which is suitably journalled in the side-frames 8 and II of the machine standard 2; Upon one end of said shaft [9 is mounted an arcuate worm-gear 20 adapted tomesh with a worm-gear 2| carried by the shaft 22 to which the hand-wheel 23 is secured. Under such an arrangement, it is possible to vertically adjust one or more short straightening rollers at the same time and to the desired degree of pressure upon the sheet material. In case there is more than one short straightening roller 1, and assuming that they have been previously shifted transversely to meet the requirements necessary for greater pressure upon the sheet at certain points, by rotating the hand-wheel 23, the shaft I9 is revolved through meshing of the worm-gears 20 and 2|. Upon movement of the shaft IS, in one direction, the roll l8 carried thereby contacts the short straightening roller supports i4 and forces them downwardly, causing the short straightening rollers 1 to exert a greater pressure upon the sheet at the point of contact therewith than at other points along the transverse plane of travel Such action is due to the roll I 8 being eccentrically mounted uponthe shaft IS. A reverse rotation of the hand-wheel 23 will relieve the pressure of the short straightening rollers upon the sheet material.

Where two or more short straightening rollers l are provided and mounted for independent transverse movement in the same horizontal plane and it is desired to adjust each of said rollers independently of the others, the operating means is shown in Figures 3 and 4. The roll 24 is eccentrically mounted on a hollow shaft 25 and, through the conventional type of gearing, causes rotation of said roll 24 upon movement of the hand-wheel 26, independent of the other short straightening roller 1. A shaft 2'! is suitably journalled in the side-frames 9 and II of the machine standard and passes through the roll 24 which has an internal diameter larger than the shaft 21 to allow for the ,eccentric movement of said roll 24. A hand-wheel 28 cooperates through suitable gearing to rotate the shaft 21 and move the eccentrically mounted roll 29 toward and away from the short straightening roller support 14 independent of the movement of the other short straightening rollers.

Figures 5 and 6 show a hydraulic operated means for vertically moving the short straightening rollers 1 toward and away from the sheet material and the cooperating long straightening rollers 5 and 6. The short straightening roller support is provided with an internal pressure chamber having an opening communicating with a supply pipe 30 which, in turn, is connected to any conventional type of flexible conduit leading from the source of fluid pressure supply. The roller support I4 is adapted for vertical movement on the piston 3| which is provided with lugs 32 for supporting rollers 33. The rollers 33 are adapted to contact the machine standard 2 and maintain the short straightening roller support l4 steady in its transverse movement, which is efleoted in a like manner as hereinbefore described by movement of said support It over the screw-threaded area Hi.

In the apparatus shown in Figures 7 and 8,

the vertical adjustment of the short straightencaused to engage the tapered face of the sup-' port H which effects a vertical movement of said short straightening roller or rollers I.

Instead of using one or more short straightening rollers which areshiftable transversely of the plane of travel of the sheet material, if desired, a plurality of short non-shiftable straightening rollers may be provided which, when aligned in a horizontal plane, will equal the length of one long straightening roll, as more clearly shown in Figures 9 and 10.

Under such a construction, the plurality of short straightening rollers 36 are not shiftable transversely of theplane of travel of the sheet material, but each roller -38may be provided with means for affecting a vertical adjustment independent of the remaining short straightening rollers, or in groups of two or more; or if desired, allof the rollers 38 can be pressed against the sheet simultaneously Such an operation can be efIected by providing each of the rollers 36 with an eccentric, similar to Figures 1 and 3, or with an adjusting screw 31 which may be regulated individually, selectively in groups or, simultaneously for the entire set of short straightening rollers from the operat-' ing side of the machine by means of a shaft 38 having a gear 39 meshing with the gears 40 on the adjusting screws 31 and clutches (not shown) when desired to connect the desired number of straightening rollers for vertical movement.

Such a construction as shown in Figures 9 and 10 has the advantage in that the sheet material is capable of being contacted acrossvits entire transverse plane by straightening rollers which prevent upward movement or buckling of the sheet while passing through the machine, whereby a positive contact may be had upon the sheet under the necessary pressure at certain points to insure straightening of the distorted" sheets passing therethrough.

The present construction hereinbefore described in connection with the several figurescan be applied within the straightening apparatus of a sheet straightening machine, or

machines of similar construction and operation, in such a manner that at each'desired place, either on top of a lower orunder an upper pair of normally long straightening rollers,- one or more short straightening, rollers are arranged instead of a normally long straightening roll which cooperates with a pair of normally long straightening rollers. These short straightening rollers can be adjusted vertically independent or the adjustment of the normally long straightening rollers. Such an arrangement is preferably positioned in the center of the straightening machine. However, if desired, such a. combination of short and long straightening rollers can be placed in the front of or the rear of said machine, or in front of or behind a sheet straightening machine, as a separate and independent unit.

When the combination of the short and co operating long straightening rollers is used as an independent unit from the conventional straightening machine, the straightening rollers can have their respective vertical adjustment relative to each other andat the same time permit individual independent vertical and transverse movement of the short straightening rollers with respect to the normally long. I straightening rollers. .Un'der'such a construction and arrangement, it is possible to individually straighten badly rolled sheets and then subsequently feed these sheets through the straightening machine. The unit could be placed temporarily in front of the straightening machine and then removed to another straightening machine. I

. Also, whether used as an independent unit or as a part of the conventional straightening machine, the adjustment of the straightening rollers may be so arranged that the two cooperating long straightening rollers may, be moved vertically toward and away from the sheet material and the cooperating short straightening rollers, which in this case would remain sta-- tionary in their vertical movement.

While I have shown and described several specific embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited exactly thereto, since various modifications maysaid supportstoward said first rollers for spaced localized pressure application of the shorter rollers upon a sheet or the like passed between said pairs of rollers. v

2; In a machine for straightening sheets and the like, a pair of straightening rollers, a pair of shorter straightening rollers coacting therewith,

' individual supports for the shorter rollers, means for independently shifting and spacing the roller supports in a direction substantially parallel to said first rollers, said means including a pair ofthreaded members each having threaded engagement with a support. and being spaced to permit relative'movement of the supports in a direction toward said firstrollers, and means for independently urging each support toward the first rollers for selective localized pressure application of each of the shorter rollers upon a sheet or the like passed between said pairs of rollers. r 1

3. In a machine for straightening sheets and the like, a pair of straightening rollers, a pair of shorter straightening rollers coacting therewith,

individual supports for the shorter rollers, means for independently shifting and spacing the roller supports in; a direction substantially parallel v to said first rollers including telescoped adjusting members each having threaded engagement with a support, saidmembers being spaced to permit relative movement of the supports in a direction toward said first rollers, and means for urging said supports toward the first rollers including adjustable pressure devices separately engaging the supports and individually operable for selective localized pressure application of each of the shorter rollers upon a sheet or the like passed betweensaid pairs of rollers. 3 FRITZUNGERER. 

